News
Monday, April 05, 2010
Khyber residents not okay with NWFP’s proposed name
* Say they shouldn’t be deprived of their centuries-old identity
* PPP, PML-N have violated Charter of Democracy by not incorporating FATA reforms in 18th Amendment BillBy Sudhir Ahmad Afridi
LANDIKOTAL: Some Khyber Agency residents have opposed the attachment of word ‘Khyber’ with the new name of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
The 18th Constitutional Amendment whose draft is to be submitted to parliament today (Monday) recommends Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the new name for the province. Former general secretary of Tribal Union of Journalists Khyal Zaman Afridi told Daily Times on Sunday that ‘Khyber’ had been representing tribal people’s culture, traditions and identity for centuries and therefore, the word shouldn’t be used in the new name for the NWFP. “We shouldn’t be deprived of our centuries old identity,” he said.
Tribal journalists Nasrullah Afridi, Saadullah Afridi, Farhad Shinwari and Aminul Haq also opposed the prefixing of ‘Khyber’ before Pukhtunkhwa. This, they said, will be no less than losing historic identity of Khyber Agency.
“We have our own identity and don’t want to lose it,” he said.
JI Khyber Agency Vice President Afrasiab Afridi also rejected the proposed name for the NWFP. He said the Constitutional Reforms Committee had proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the NWFP as a new name without consulting people and parliamentarians of Tribal Areas, especially Khyber Agency, on board, and that was unfortunate.
He criticised the committee for ignoring FATA reforms. “The PPP and the PML-N have violated Charter of Democracy by not incorporating FATA reforms in the proposed 18th Amendment Bill,” he said. Lashkar-s-Islam also opposed the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Nevertheless, the new name for the NWFP has also sat well with some in Khyber Agency and they include Ansarul Islam; Ibrahim Shinwari, Wali Khan Shinwari and Siraj Afridi of Tribal Union of Journalists, and ANP leaders Sajid Afridi and Hasam Khan. They said the NWFPP had gotten an identity 63 years after the country’s independence. He said the renaming of the province was not a political issue but it was a matter related to the Pukhtuns’ identity.
Meanwhile, the ANP Landikotal workers took out a rally to celebrate the proposed new name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the NWFP.
The rally began at Hospital Square, passed through Landikotal Bazaar and ended at Bacha Khan Square, where the party activists shouted slogans in favour of their leadership for winning the NWFP new name.
Addressing the participants, ANP Khyber Agency President Abdur Rahim Afridi praised parliament’s constitutional reforms committee and the top leadership of all political parties for agreeing to the NWFP’s new name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “The dream of Bacha Khan and Wali Khan has come true,” he said.
He said Pakhtunkhwa was the identity of Pakhtuns.
Afridi said the ANP leadership would soon get in contact with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa challengers to convince them for abandoning their opposition to the province’s new name. He said no one’s political and financial rights would be exploited following the renaming of the NWFP.
ANP leaders Malik Darya Khan Afridi, Shah Hussain Shinwari and Shahid Afridi also spoke to the participants. They highlighted importance of the renaming of the NWFP. They said the NWFP was not a suitable name for the province inhabited mostly by Pakhtuns.
They appreciated the party’s top leadership for making a constant struggle to secure an appropriate name for the province.
Later, sweets were distributed among participants, who expressed joy over the proposed renaming of the NWFP.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk